The Level of Discipline in a Project

Neville Turbit - Project Perfect

Overview

A
constant complaint from those involved in projects is that there
is too much bureaucracy. A process has been set up and it must be
followed regardless of the size or complexity of the project. One
size fits all. This white paper covers some of the things to consider
when deciding how much rigor to apply to a project.

Why the Checks and Balances

Projects are not just subject to checks and balances because it
gives the Project Management Office something to do. Projects typically
involve substantial sums of money and considerable risk compared
with ongoing business activity. The cost to the company of something
going wrong is likely to be significant. It is not like someone ordered
an extra box of stationary. Business management rightly are concerned
that time and effort, not to mention money, might be wasted.

Project Methodology

Usually an organisation develops a project methodology to protect
themselves against possible failure. They have someone list out all
the steps in a project or buy a methodology. Obviously the methodology
is aimed at the biggest most complex projects. The trouble is that
having taken that approach, the tendency is to apply all, or most
of the process to smaller projects. The particular circumstances
of a project are not taken into consideration.

Alternatively there is a "big", "medium" and "small" version of
the methodology. Once again, the focus is on size rather than a sensible
level of project discipline for each particular project. To take
an example of an IT project, small may be under $50k. If the project
is to roll out an upgrade of the conference room booking system,
should it be subjected to the same level of discipline as a change
to the email server and firewall. If the booking system is down,
you can revert to paper and nobody is too inconvenienced. If the
email system is down, the company may come to a stop.

Criteria for Deciding the Level of Rigor

I don't have a magic formula. It is more a decision that has to
be made by wise heads based on a number of factors. Projects of similar
budgets may possibly be managed in totally different ways. One may
report to management weekly and another monthly. One may need senior
approval for each phase and the other just move from phase to phase.
One may require a full business case and another just an estimate
of costs. There are a number of factors that need to be considered.

Project Manager

If the project manager is inexperienced it is wise to have more
oversight of what is happening. Documentation may be required that
would not be required by a more senior person. For example, cost
justification may need to be more detailed for an inexperienced person.
It is a two edged sword. Documentation will not only prove the cost
is justified. It will also teach the less experienced project manager
to better analyse the reasons for the expenditure. Having gone through
the process to create the document is more important than the end
document.

If the project manager is experienced and trusted in the organisation,
he or she may be given more latitude to operate independently. They
may not have to submit a cost justification for every little expense.
People trust them on the small stuff.

Riskiness

How risky is the project? If there is a high level of risk associated
with a project, the level of documentation and the types of activities
undertaken needs to be more formal. For a very risky venture, senior
people may feel the need to sign off on each step. The project manager
will need to make sure everything is done "by the book". It is not
only to protect the project manager. It is also to ensure if there
are problems or compromises, everyone is involved.

Size

Size is a factor. In most cases the bigger the project, the higher
the complexity. Also the bigger the risk. Larger projects usually
mean more stakeholders and the potential for conflicts and misapprehension.
Bigger projects require more discipline.

Project Experience

This is also related to risk. If you have completed similar projects
in the past, you have the experience. If you are doing it for the
first time, you are on a voyage that may take you in many new directions.
Discipline and thoroughness is important.

Participants

A project run internally by a single project manager is far easier
to run than one where there are subcontracted parties involved. Coordination
becomes a major issue and consequently there needs to be much more
detail and discipline in the project.

Lack of Interest

I am constantly amazed by project managers who say "Nobody is really
interested in this project. I can run it as I want." If someone is
not interested in my project, I will be pushing information down
their throats. You can almost guarantee that when you get to the
end of the project, one of those disinterested parties will suddenly
decide the project was a total failure because it didn't deliver
what they had in mind. The fact they never properly communicated
this vision because they were disinterested is irrelevant to the
reputation of the project manager. You will be associated with a
project failure. Lack of interest is a sign to be more disciplined
and provide much more detail to everyone at the project progresses.

We don't have a Process

Many project managers who operate on contract go into an organisation
that has no formal methodology and float along doing their own thing.
Much better to use your own methodology and explain to people what
is happening. More importantly explain to them why you are doing
what you are doing. Explain in terms of benefits not features.

"In order to minimise things going wrong during the project, we
are going to hold a workshop to brainstorm all the things that might
go wrong. We will come up with actions we can take to reduce the
likelihood of it happening, or the impact if it does."

Notice I did not use the word "risk" once in the explanation. Asking
people to attend a risk assessment workshop is likely to get you
a reputation of being a bureaucratic project manager. The feature
is a risk assessment workshop. The benefit is minimising things going
wrong.

Implementation

I am sure I will not get too many arguments about the points above.
The question is how to make it happen. My suggestion is that you
take your most experienced and senior project people, and have them
review each project before it starts. Let them discuss with the project
manager the level of rigor.

What activities should be undertaken?

What documentation should be produced?

What reporting should take place?

What QA events will be included?

How often will reviews take place?

Who will be involved on a steering committee?

What contingency plans are there for staff turnover?

These are just some of the questions to be asked, and decisions
made.

Assign a senior project manager as Project Mentor. Their role is
to keep a watchful eye on progress and be a sounding board for the
project manager. Just make sure the mentor has the capacity to undertake
the watching brief. It will take some time and that time means something
else has to be sacrificed.

Conclusion

The level of discipline applied to projects is not meant to be the
same for every project. Some will require more rigor than others.
Consider all the factors above when deciding how disciplined the
project will be.

This is not an argument for no documentation or process. It is in
fact an argument for having a flexible process that can be adapted
to each project. The flexibility is not the prerogative of any project
manager to adapt to suit their own situation - sometimes retrospectively.
It is something that experienced project practitioners should manage.

Just as no business process fits 100% of situations, no project
methodology will fit 100% of projects.

The Author

Neville Turbit has had over 20 years experience as a Project Management
and IT consultant and almost an equal time working in Business. He
is the principal of Project Perfect. Neville can be contacted at turbit@projectperfect.com.au

To date,
6 people have rated this article. The average rating is
4.00 - Add your rating. Just select a rating and click the
button. No other information required.